Tens of thousands are expected to attend the funeral of slain Hezbollah leader Hassan Nasrallah on Sunday in Beirut, in a mass ceremony aimed at signalling strength after a 14‑month war with Israel left the group in tatters.
Mr Nasrallah, who led the Iran-backed Shia militant group for more than three decades, was killed on September 27 in a massive Israeli attack on the city amid an intense air campaign on Lebanon.
“It’s not simply a tribute to a historic figure – it’s a show for Hezbollah to prove that they still exist. They want to showcase a victory, they are telling their popular base, ‘We have triumphed,’” political analyst Joseph Daher told The National.
A charismatic leader, Mr Nasrallah was revered in Lebanon and abroad by his supporters, who lauded him for defying Israel and the US. He also faced fierce opposition in other facets of Lebanese society.
The ceremony, which is scheduled to take place at the Camille Chamoun Sports Stadium in the Beirut suburbs, will be followed by a funeral procession ending at a dedicated burial site. His funeral has been delayed for five months over security concerns
Mourners from Lebanon and abroad, including Iran, Iraq, and Yemen, are expected to attend. Thousands have already poured into the capital in the days before the ceremony. The Associated Press reported, quoting an Iraqi transportation ministry official, that up to 6,000 people had flown to Beirut from Iraq in recent days.
Arab and Lebanese political and diplomatic figures are also expected to attend the funeral. Viral videos show delegations from across the Arab world arriving at Beirut airport.
Iranian media reported that the Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi and parliament president Mohammad-Bagher Ghalibaf will attend the funeral. Yemen’s Houthis will send a senior delegation led by the Grand Mufti, Houthi-affiliated Al Masirah TV said.
The funeral will also honour Hashem Safieddine, who was Hezbollah’s leader for one week after Mr Nasrallah’s death, before being killed by Israel.
Lebanon’s security troops have announced security measures, including the shutting down of roads throughout much of central and southern Beirut. Dedicated paramedic and first-responder teams have been posted on Sunday morning.
Civil aviation authorities said Beirut airport will halt all flights for four hours until 4pm on Sunday.
Hezbollah took a heavy toll in the recent war with Israel, with most of its leadership decimated and thousands of Hezbollah fighters killed. The fall of Bashar Al Assad in Syria, a Hezbollah ally and a member of the Iran-led ‘axis of resistance’, has further weakened the group by cutting off its supply route to Iran.